Breaking: As we press the publish button, it appears that Delta has cancelled its “final” Boeing 747 flight between Detroit and Seoul. That’s kinda awkward for all the aviation and 747 geeks who bought tickets for the final flight. Hmmm. Appears flight is rescheduled for Monday. We’ll monitor, but here’s the Flight Aware status report. Reporter Zach Honig is in Detroit hoping to board the flight and its tweeting about the mishap.

I did it. For years I’ve reported on the boom on Europe’s river boat cruising biz….last week I finally took one! I’ll tell you all about it in an upcoming Trip Report! Have you been on one? Check out my Instagram to see more photos from the trip, but here’s the Viking Gullveig.

The Qantas kangaroo gets a modernized redesign on the tail of its new 787-9s. (Image: Qantas)

Qantas this week introduces a brand-new 787-9 Dreamliner on its Los Angeles-Melbourne route, and now the Australian airline says it will bring the Dreamliner to San Francisco as well.

The airline doesn’t have a firm start-up date yet, but said it expects to begin new San Francisco-Melbourne flights with the 787-9 Dreamliner in “late 2018.” Seats should go on sale early in the New Year. There is currently no non-stop service in the SFO-MEL market.

Initially operating six days a week on the LAX-Melbourne route, the 14-hour 787-9 flights will complement Qantas’ existing daily A380 service, a spokesperson said– which means it will fly SFO Melbourne a few days a week, and LAX-Melbourne a few days a week.

Why split the route up like that? My best guess is that the LAX-Melbourne flights have not been selling as well as hoped, so Qantas will try and beef up revenues by adding SFO legs.

New 787-9 business suites are an update of the business cabins on Qantas’ A330s. (Image: Qantas)

Here’s our preview of the new Qantas aircraft, which will have 42 business class seats configured 1-2-1; 28 in premium economy, with a 2-3-2 layout; and 166 in economy, configured 3-3-3 and offering 32-inch pitch.

The San Francisco schedule is still undetermined. “Capacity between the U.S. and Melbourne will be rebalanced to match demand from the two California cities, meaning that the Dreamliner will fly from Los Angeles some days of the week and San Francisco other days,” the spokesperson said.

Qantas CEO Alison Webster said in Melbourne this week that the company is seeing “strong demand” for San Francisco-Melbourne service, “both from a tourism perspective and because of the business links between Silicon Valley and Melbourne. As well, a significant number of our Melbourne passengers flying to Los Angeles already connect on to San Francisco.”

Qantas unveiled its new Premium Economy seats, which will go on its new 787-9s. (Image: Qantas)

Qantas’ only current San Francisco service is a 747-400 non-stop to Sydney, a route also flown by United.

The LAX-Melbourne route is being operated with the airline’s first newly delivered 787-9. The second will go into service in March, providing the first non-stop flights between Australia and Europe on a Melbourne-Perth-London routing. The airline expects to take delivery of eight 787-9s by the end of 2018, with four based in Melbourne and four in Brisbane.

In international route developments, United will start using high-density 777s on some Europe routes; Delta aims to make things smoother for transborder flyers with a new partnership; Qantas kicks off its 787-9 service to LAX next week; Air China begins a new LAX route; Air Canada adds another Australian destination; and Aeromexico tacks on an Atlanta route.

Travel to Europe for some United Airlines passengers is going to get more crowded next year as the airline starts to deploy high-density 777-200s on a few routes out of its Newark hub. The aircraft in question are normally used on domestic routes. According to Airlineroutes.com, United will put the 777s into service between Newark and Barcelona April 23, Newark-Dublin March 10 and Newark-Madrid May 23. (Low-fare Norwegian started EWR-Barcelona flights last summer, and British Airways/Iberia sister company Level plans to begin cheap flights from Boston to Barcelona next spring.)

United has four configurations for its 777-200s, according to Seatguru.com. The three versions previously designated for international routes have 266 to 269 total seats, while the high-density aircraft have 364 (234 economy, 102 Economy Plus and 50 Polaris business class). They manage this difference thanks in part to 10-across seating in economy and Economy Plus instead of the nine-across in the other versions.

A WestJet 737 in special Walt Disney World livery. (Image: WestJet)

As if Delta didn’t have enough joint venture partnerships already (Virgin Atlantic, Air France-KLM, Aeromexico, and a new one recently approved with Korean Air), it’s now planning yet another. The carrier said it has entered into a preliminary memorandum of understanding with Canada’s WestJet to form a new joint venture for transborder service. Joint ventures also imply antitrust immunity, meaning the two carriers would be able to cooperate on pricing and scheduling.

Delta says the JV with WestJet will mean “coordinated flight schedules for new nonstop flights to new destinations, expanded codesharing, and seamless and convenient connections on the airlines’ extensive networks in the U.S. and Canada,” along with “enhanced frequent flyer benefits including reciprocal benefits for top-tier members of both airlines.”

Qantas’ first 787-9 will enter service to LAX next week. (Image: Qantas)

December 15 is the scheduled starting date for Qantas to put a brand new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner into service on its Melbourne-Los Angeles route. It’s the first route for the new Qantas aircraft, and it will replace an Airbus A380. Next March, Qantas will use a new 787-9 to begin the first non-stops between Australia and Europe, on a London-Perth routing. The Qantas 787-9s will have 42 business class seats configured 1-2-1; 28 in premium economy, with a 2-3-2 layout; and 166 in economy, configured 3-3-3 and offering 32-inch pitch.

Speaking of Australia, Air Canada just added its third route to that country, beginning service this week between Vancouver and Melbourne. The carrier uses a 787-9 for the 16-hour flight. Air Canada already flies from Vancouver to Sydney with a 777-200LR, and last summer it began Vancouver-Brisbane service with a 787.

Another new transpacific route that just started this week is Air China’s service between Los Angeles and Shenzhen, a tech-heavy city in China’s Guangdong Province. Air China will use a three-class 787-9 to fly the route three times a week (Monday, Thursday, Saturday), with a 10:50 p.m. departure from LAX. Air China also has three daily flights from LAX to Beijing.

Delta’s joint venture partner Aeromexico has started flying a new route from Delta’s Atlanta hub. The carrier kicked off daily service between ATL and Merida, using a 99-passenger Embraer 190 with business class and regular economy seating.

It’s a little late to the Dreamliner game, but Qantas has just unveiled the interiors of the new Boeing 787-9s that are coming to its international fleet soon – including to the U.S.

In fact, the very first route for Qantas’ newest wide-body will be Melbourne to Los Angeles, beginning in December. The second will be a very long haul from Perth to London – the first non-stop service linking Australia with Europe — starting next March. (Currently fares on the LAX-Melbourne route are just $787 round trip— quite a good deal!)

Will the Qantas Dreamliner find its way to San Francisco next year? Qantas hasn’t said; it is currently flying a 747-400 on the SFO-Sydney route, while United already uses a 787-9 in that market. Qantas said it will have eight Dreamliners in its long-haul fleet by the end of next year, allowing it to retire five of its 747s. (Qantas currently uses A380s on its Los Angeles flights from Melbourne and Sydney.) Read what Qantas CEO told TravelSkills about SFO-SYD flights in an interview here.

Qantas plans to use the Dreamliner for its longest nonstop flight, Perth to London, starting next March.

The new Qantas 787-9. (Image: Qantas)

In any case, the Qantas 787-9s will offer “more space and a lower passenger count than most of its competitors,” the airline said. They will have large windows, improved cabin air quality, and “ride dampening technology to minimize the effects of turbulence,” Qantas said.

The Qantas 787-9s will have 42 business class seats configured 1-2-1; 28 in premium economy, with a 2-3-2 layout; and 166 in economy, configured 3-3-3 and offering 32-inch pitch.

That’s a total of 236 seats. A year ago, when Qantas first revealed its 787-9 seating plans, the publication Australian Business Traveler compared that to Qantas’ competitors, noting that Air New Zealand’s three-class 787-9s have 302 seats, while Air Canada’s have 298 and United’s have 252.

The 787-9s also come with Qantas’ new livery, which includes the fifth update of its traditional Flying Kangaroo logo.

Fares between the US and Australia tumble for 2018 trips- Qantas A380s sunbathing at LAX (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

When fares to Australia or New Zealand dip below $1,000, it’s time to sit up and take notice.

Today Qantas announced a very good deal for flights from the US to Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane– with fares from San Francisco and Los Angeles starting at just $949 roundtrip. You can fly to Auckland, New Zealand from California for $999. From Dallas, fares are running at about $1,100 round trip. One stop flights from New York-JFK are just $1049 round trip.

What’s best about this sale is the timing… you’ll travel during the dark cold days of winter in the US to the sunny shores of Oz between February 5 and June 23. To get the deal, you must book your trip by Monday, October 2.

Fare chart from Qantas for economy roundtrips

For business travelers, premium economy fares are also discounted for this sale to around $2,300 round trip. Business class remains a steep $7,000+ round trip.

So far, United and Air New Zealand have not matched this sale, but stay tuned… it could happen in the next 24 hours.

Climb this secret staircase to see the crew rest area in a brand new United Boeing 777-300ER (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

As the crowded, busy summer season approaches and we are all wondering what kind of spaces we’ll soon be traveling in, it seems time for another look at some of the secret spaces we’ve recently discovered onboard planes.

We have five to show you here:

CATHAY PACIFIC

I had the chance to ride on one of Cathay Pacific’s brand new Boeing 777-300ERs from the factory in Seattle to Hong Kong. We created a video of the crew rest area during that flight, which caused an internet sensation.

To this day, it is by far the most popular video we have produced, snagging nearly a million views so far.

A brand new Boeing 777-300 ER at the factory in Seattle (Chris McGinnis)

I took the video on a “delivery flight” from the Boeing factory to Cathay Pacific’s HQ in Hong Kong, so there were only about 80 passengers on a jumbo jet that can carry about 350. While the seats and service were fine, I was curious to see the large crew rest area on this plane.

Since long-range aircraft like the Boeing 777 can fly nonstop for 16-18 hours, airlines are required to offer rest areas for inflight crews who work on shifts.

On the Cathay Pacific 777, the rest area is located above the economy class section at the rear of the plane. It’s accessed via a non-descript door in the galley area. There’s another rest area (which I did not see) for pilots at the front of the plane.

One of eight sleeping pods for flight attendants on a Cathay 777 (Chris McGinnis)

So go have a look— it might be the only time you’ll ever see a crew rest area since visits by passengers on regularly scheduled flights are forbidden.

The secret staircase at the back of a Cathay Pacific Boeing 777 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Luckily, that was not the only time I was allowed inside one of these secret spaces. Read on for more recent visits….

UNITED

Most recently, I took a spin through United’s new Boeing 777-300ER— the one with the new Polaris business class seats, which is now flying between SFO and Hong Kong.

United’s brand new Boeing 777-300ER arrives at SFO for the first time (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

There are two crew rest areas on this plane. One is upfront for pilots, the other is accessed by a secret door by the rear galley and contains six soundproof sleeping berths for flight attendants. This get-away-from-it-all space is cherished by crew, especially on those 12-15 our transpac long hauls!

SINGAPORE AIRLINES

We were also invited up to Seattle to see Singapore Airline’s newest B777 in 2013 to prepare this report and slideshow, and to grab this image of the peach pink confines of its crew rest area:

A brand new Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 at the factory in Seattle (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

View from the QANTAS jaw-dropping first class lounge in Sydney. Crew rest area is located behind the windows on the bubble. (Chris McGinnis)

While doing so, I noticed flight attendants entering the secret staircase to the crew rest area and asked if I could slip in for a quick video, and they obliged! See below look at that!

A look inside the crew rest area on a Qantas 747-400 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Here’s how we described the experience in that TravelSkills.com post: Due to my status as a travel writer, I received a special favor– I asked if I could board five minutes early so I could get some good photos of the plane before it filled up with passengers. At the last minute my wish was granted, so I scrambled on board, up the “stairway to heaven,” threw my bags down and took off with flight attendant Jerry for a quick tour of the plane INCLUDING a look at the secret crew rest area in the aft section of the “bubble” with access via a special stairway from the main deck. See that video here (or below). This big bird has a crew of 14 flight attendants and four pilots and on a 14+ hour flight, they need a place to hide!

DELTA

On my recent trip to the Delta Museum in Atlanta to see the new 747 Experience exhibit, I snapped a photo of the pilot’s crew rest area upstairs in the 747 bubble of the aircraft on display. There’s another crew rest area for flight attendants at the back of this plane, but the light was not good enough to capture a good image.

Looking back from the cockpit, you can look into the pilot crew rest area (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

So as we all prepare to depart on packed flights this summer, it’s nice to know that there are some spacious seats somewhere onboard! Have you ever seen one of these spacious spaces? Please leave your comments below.

Pay a little more for a lot more comfort when flying Qantas to Australia (Photo: Dan Knous)

Looking for a good Economy seat to Australia? I found it – seat 71D on a Qantas A380

This is a Reader Report by Dan Knous

The most miserable night of my life was spent on a United 747 from LAX to SYD a number of years ago. I was in the middle of their 3-4-3 economy seating (United did not honor my Air New Zealand aisle seat assignment). No legroom, big people on either side of me, it was terrible. I was determined to never let that happen again.

Last fall I planned another trip down under to ride a motorcycle across the outback and began looking for a good, affordable seat. When my wife and I travel internationally we usually go business class but she would not be along on this adventure and I did not feel it was worth paying $3,000 for premium economy or $9,700 for business.

Seatguru shows seat 71D in green as having extra legroom. Only two other seats get the greenlight: 80 A&K – click to see full chart

A little research led me to Qantas and seat 71D. This seat on Qantas A380’s has twice the normal pitch of a standard economy seat. The seat in front of 71D has been removed to allow emergency access through the floor to a crew rest area down below.

I am a couple inches over six-feet tall and Qantas’ 31-inch pitch in economy is just not enough for me. Seat 71D is on the aisle and when I first sat down it was great to be able to get into and out of the seat without the usual gymnastics imposed by the seat in front of you and the armrests. (See above)

Qantas A380, QF93 readying for take off at Melbourne (Photo: San Knous)

Qantas sells this seat for a premium on top of the regular fare – an additional US$275. Total price for my travel OKC-DFW-SYD-PER and return PER-MEL-LAX-OKC was about $1600, a little over half the cost of premium economy- plus I had more legroom.

DFW-SYD is a long 16+ hour flight but I was able to actually stretch out and sleep, cross my legs, easily stand up and move about. Wow! The only problem I had was a few times during the flight other passengers intruded into my space from the aisle.

Qantas did a good job with food service, snacks, and drinks all night long. I used the video screen on the seat in front of me to track flight progress and watched several movies on the screen at my seat. 71D is about a half-inch narrower than a standard seat due to the tray table installation in the armrest but this was not a problem for me.

Dan Knous and his Honda CT-110 near Meekathara, Western Australia

In Perth I joined a group of 30 fellow motorcycle riders on small-displacement Hondas on a trek across the outback to Broome, Western Australia. We rode 3,500 km. (about 2,100 miles) in nine days, camping out each night in remote outback towns. It was a great ride across some of the most remote real estate on the planet.

My flights home were all on time, pleasant and uneventful. I again had seat 71D from MEL-LAX and on all my flights had the good fortune to have an empty seat next to me.

London Bridge Arch, Sandstone, Western Australia (Dan Knous)

Thanks, Dan! That’s an outstanding Trip Report with excellent practical info and personal experience. Just what we are looking for in Reader Reports!

If you’d like to submit a Reader Report to TravelSkills, please take a look at our Reader Report guidelines and start writing! We’d love to hear from you.

American Airlines’ new Los Angeles-Beijing route authority is in trouble.(Photo: Derwiki – Pixabay)

In international route developments, American’s recently-awarded route authority from Los Angeles to Beijing has hit a big snag, and American’s code goes onto a LAX-Paris flight; Qantas and American will try again for antitrust immunity; Virgin Atlantic schedules the deployment of A330s equipped with a new Upper Class; United changes planes on one of its San Francisco-London flights; Air India adds a new U.S. route; and a new company plans luxury small-jet service between New York and London.

Last fall, American won rights to fly from LAX to Beijing, with a start date expected in the first quarter of this year. But now American’s plans are up in the air, with the airline complaining to the Transportation Department that Chinese officials won’t provide takeoff and landing slots at Beijing’s Capital International Airport. It’s not that Chinese authorities tried to stick American with slots in the middle of the night, the carrier said — they wouldn’t give it any slots at all for the LAX flights. American argues that this is in violation of the bilateral agreement between the two countries. Currently, the only airline flying the LAX-Beijing route is Air China, which has three flights a day. American flies to Beijing from DFW and Chicago.

Given all the tough talk from the new Trump Administration toward China, this situation could pose a tough test for newly appointed Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Speaking of the Trump Administration, Qantas and American Airlines seem to think the new regime in Washington might be inclined to reverse the Obama DOT’s recent rejection of the carriers’ joint venture partnership, so they plan to make a new filing for antitrust immunity. But in the meantime, Qantas said it has stopped code-sharing on AA’s Sydney-Los Angeles flights, and that it is adjusting its frequent flyer policy with American “to bring it in line with other Oneworld carriers” starting May 1.

In other news, American has expanded its code-sharing partnership with Air Tahiti Nui, and has put its AA code onto that carrier’s Los Angeles-Paris CDG flights.

This old Upper Class cabin on Virgin Atlantic’s A330s is being replaced. (Image: Virgin Atlantic)

Virgin Atlantic is refitting the Upper Class cabins of its 10 Airbus A330s following complaints that the seating layout of the herringbone “Dream Suites” was too cramped. Specifics of the redesign haven’t yet been announced, but Routesonline.com reports that the carrier has started to schedule the rollout of the overhauled A330s. The schedule sets March 27 for the debut of the aircraft on Virgin’s Manchester-San Francisco and Manchester-Boston routes, followed by London Heathrow-Newark, LHR-New York JFK, LHR-Washington Dulles, Manchester-Atlanta and Manchester-JFK on September 1; LHR-Atlanta and another LHR-JFK flight October 30; and LHR-Miami October 31.

While United will continue to operate one of its last 747s on the San Francisco-London Heathrow route through the summer, it has filed plans to change the aircraft on its second flight (the evening departure from SFO, UA930/949) from a 777-200ER to a 787-9 from May 24 through September 5, according to Routesonline.com.

Air India plans a July start for its newest U.S. route, linking Delhi and Washington Dulles. The carrier plans to use a 777 to fly the new route three times a week. Air India already flies to New York, Newark, Chicago and San Francisco.

Bliss Jet, a new company that last year said it would begin offering individually-ticketed private jet flights between the New York area and the U.K., failed to deliver on that plan. But now the carrier is trying again – this time with a new route. Bliss Jet’s original plan called for weekly roundtrip service between New York’s Westchester County Airport and London’s small Biggin Hill Airport. Now the company is planning to start offering private jet charter flights sometime this spring between LaGuardia and London Stansted, using private terminals at both airports. Bliss Jet will sell individual seats on Gulfsteam G450s and G550s with a maximum of 10 seats per flight. Service will operate eastbound on Sundays and westbound on Thursdays. The cost will be a mere $11,995 – each way.

United is said to be looking for more space – perhaps a new terminal – at Los Angeles International; also at LAX, American and Delta shift some gates and Qantas finally opens a big new hangar out by the beach.

United Airlines President Scott Kirby told pilots recently that the airline plans to increase its presence at Los Angeles International in the years ahead, in an effort to catch up with market share gains made there by American and Delta says Bloomberg News. (United’s share at LAX is estimated at 15 percent, vs. 16 for Delta and 20 for American.) But to do that, he said United will need more terminal space – either in existing terminals or in a new terminal. He referred to a possible Terminal 9, Bloomberg said.

An old plan for LAX shows a Terminal 9 linked to Concourse 8 by a bridge, and a commuter terminal. (Image: GPA Architects)

That was apparently a reference to a long-dormant plan at LAX to build a terminal across Sepulveda Boulevard from the existing Concourse 8, with a passenger bridge over the roadway connecting the two terminals. If so, it would add even more construction hassles to the already huge agenda for expansion at the airport. United currently uses Terminal 7’s Concourses 7 and 8, and it has been carrying out a big renovation project there, including the recent opening of a new United Club.

Last week Qantas opened its new state-of-the-art hangar– the first to be built at LAX in the last 20 years. It is capable of fitting an A380 completely inside either nose- or tail-in. It is also capable of accommodating other aircraft types including the B747 and 787 Dreamliner (entering service later this year). It also includes the carrier’s corporate office space and ground support equipment facilities. It’s located WAY out on the western edge of airport grounds by the beach– you’ll get a good gander of it on the rare occasion flights land from the west. In the video above, watch how Qantas carefully parks a big A380 in its new digs. Qantas’ old hangar was recently demolished to make way for a big extension of the Tom Bradley International Terminal- more about that here.

In other LAX news, the airport announced that effective January 31, American Airlines is shifting four boarding gates and its American Eagle shuttle bus gate from Terminal 6 to Terminal 5. The new AA T5 gates are 50A, 50B, 53A, 53B and 52 (the shuttle bus gate). As for the gates American is leaving in T6, Delta will take them over temporarily, the airport said. “This is the first step in the months-long process that will eventually relocate all of Delta’s operations from its current Terminals 5 and 6 to Terminals 2 and 3, as soon as this May,” a spokesman said.

Qantas’ first 787-9 will enter service to LAX next year. (Image: Qantas)

Several airlines have scheduled the introduction of brand-new planes on key international routes to the U.S., including Qantas, Lufthansa, Swiss International and Singapore.

Qantas announced that its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner will enter service on December 15, 2017, flying the Melbourne-Los Angeles route. The new 236-passenger, three-class Dreamliner will fly the route six days a week, replacing a 364-seat 747, and will supplement Qantas’ daily A380 flight on the route. That will give Qantas 13 flights a week on the route, up from nine today. Even though the 787 is smaller than the 747 it will replace, the larger plane is only flying twice a week, so that’s a net capacity increase on the route of 1,400 seats a week. The Dreamliner will have business class, economy class, and a new premium economy section that the airline will introduce early next year.

Lufthansa recently took delivery of its first A350 from Airbus. (Image: Lufthansa)

Lufthansa recently took delivery of its first brand-new Airbus A350-900 which will begin regular commercial service February 10 between Munich and New Delhi. But the carrier announced last week that its second new A350 will start flying in March 2017 on the Boston-Munich route. Lufthansa said its first 10 A350s will all be based at its Munich hub. The aircraft will have 48 business class seats, 21 in premium economy and 224 in regular economy. The airline will introduce a new in-flight service for A350 business class flyers: a self-service area offering snacks and cold drinks. The new aircraft will also have larger video screens and “the latest FlyNet technology and improved web surfing,” Lufthansa said. The plane will offer a variety of lighting schemes and improved cabin pressure so travelers will arrive “feeling more rested,” the airline said.

Economy class on Swiss’s new 777-300ER. (Image: Swiss International)

Swiss International, a Lufthansa subsidiary, has been rolling out new 340-seat Boeing 777-300ERs as the flagships of its long-haul network. It has six already, with three more coming online in 2017. This year, it started flying them to Los Angeles in June and Miami in October. And they’ll soon be coming to San Francisco and Chicago. According to the Swiss website, The 777-300ER will begin flying between Zurich and San Francisco three times a week (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) starting February 16. And the airline will reportedly boost that 777 schedule to seven flights a week starting April 17. Meanwhile, Routesonline.com reports that Swiss will put the new 777-300ER into service between Chicago O’Hare-Zurich beginning June 1, flying that route six times a week. The new 777s carry 340 passengers, with eight seats in first class, 62 in business and 270 in economy (in a 3-4-3 configuration). Check out a photo tour of the Swiss 777-300ERs that we ran last year.

Singapore Airlines A350 Premium Economy is a good option for those who can’t bear the thought of 17 hours in economy (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Singapore Airlines continues add new Airbus A350s to its long-haul feet, and the next deployment of the aircraft will be on its Houston-Manchester (UK)-Singapore route starting January 17, according to Routesonline.com. The Singapore A350s have 42 business class seats, 24 in premium economy, and 187 in regular economy (in a 3-3-3 configuration). Two months ago, Singapore put one of the new A350s into service on its Singapore-San Francisco route. Chris was on board for one of the first flights, and you can read his comprehensive report here about seating and in-flight service aboard the Singapore A350.

Delta and Aeromexico have accepted government restrictions and agreed to move ahead with a joint venture partnership.

When the Transportation Department initially approved the airlines’ application for antitrust immunity last month, it said they would have to give up several slots at New York JFK and Mexico City to preserve competition in the market. Delta and Aeromexico balked at that mandate, and suggested they might drop the whole idea.

But DOT held firm in its demands and now the two carriers have agreed to abide by the restrictions and will move forward with a joint venture for transborder operations. That means they will be able to coordinate routes, schedules, pricing, and sales activities, and “enhance the alignment of their respective frequent flyer programs,” DOT said.

But the airlines must give up enough takeoff and landing slots next year to provide new competition on 24 daily transborder flights from Mexico City and four from New York JFK. “The Department found these conditions necessary to prevent harm to consumers that would result from the carriers’ dominant positions at MEX and JFK and the inability of new entrant carriers to access slots at the airports,” DOT said. The agency also set a five-year time limit on the grant of antitrust immunity.

Image: Delta

Delta CEO Ed Bastian said the new partnership “will make it possible for us to offer customers more flights to more destinations, with more choices every time someone travels across the border.” Both airlines are members of the SkyTeam alliance.

Delta also holds a minority stake in Aeromexico, which it has been increasing in recent months. It’s part of Delta’s global strategy to expand through partnerships that include partial ownership in foreign carriers. The airline also holds equity stakes in Virgin Atlantic, Brazil’s Gol and China Eastern Airlines.

The Transportation Department has been getting tougher with airlines’ antitrust immunity. Last month, the agency turned down a request by American and Qantas for immunity that would allow them to more closely cooperate on transpacific schedules and fares. The two airlines initially got immunity in 2011, but at that time American didn’t fly to Australia and the two airlines had no overlapping routes.

That changed in the years since, with American starting new routes from Los Angeles to Sydney and Auckland and Qantas adding Dallas flights, so their antitrust immunity needed a new approval. DOT said a new approval of immunity would create an anticompetitive environment since the two carriers now provide almost 60 percent of the seats in the U.S.-Australia market.

Today Qantas announced that it will soon operate the first nonstop flight between Australia and Europe: Perth-London. It will be the carrier’s longest route. Flights won’t start until March 2018 using the Australian carrier’s new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, which carries 236 passengers. The flight is expected to take about 17 hours and cover 9,010 miles. When Qantas created the first “Kangaroo route” to London in 1947, it took four days and nine stops. According to this CNN article, San Francisco-Delhi on an Air India 777 is the longest route by distance, at 9,400 miles- but due to winds, that flight could be shorter in duration. Other sources say that the current longest flight in the world is Emirates nonstop between Dubai and Auckland at 8,824 miles.

Also this weekend, seats on United’s new Boeing 777-300ER, which will include the new Polaris business class seat, went on sale. Would you like to give the new bird- and that new Polaris seat a try? On February 16, United flight 443 departs SFO at 12:40 pm and arrives EWR at 9 pm. UA1920 departs Newark at 7 am and arrives SFO at 10:23 am. If you want to fly up front, a round trip Polaris business class seat on the inaugural flight from San Francisco to Newark is currently selling for a steep $3,075 one way. (Later in the month, the business class fare drops to about $1,500 each way.) The new 10-across Economy class is much cheaper– about $186 one way. United will fly its new 777 on SFO-EWR from February 16-May 4. Starting on March 25, a new 777 will fly between SFO and Hong Kong. Polaris business class fares are about $2,700 each way. Economy class is running $745 round trip. When we checked on Sunday, it appeared that so far eight Polaris seats had sold on the inaugural SFO>HKG run.

Nothing better than waking up from an unexpectedly long sleep in Singapore Airlines business class to a bowl of piping hot soup that includes veggies, ramen and dumplings. That’s Asian soul food to me. (Chris McGinnis)

I’m kind of a freak about taking photos of my airline meals. (Sorry, seatmates!) While most people make fun of inflight food, over the last year, I’ve had several outstanding meals at 35,000 feet for which I’m very thankful today.

Below is a sampling of some of the best. Do you have a favorite inflight meal photo or description? Share it in the comments!

United Airlines (Chris McGinnis)

A surprisingly satisfying snack on a United Airlines lie-flat flight from Lihue to SFO. The combination of the walnuts, honey, cheese and apricot on a crunchy cracker along with a glass of red wine. Perfect! Read full post

I was stunned to get this full meal on a short 90-minute lunchtime flight between Istanbul and Athens on a Turkish Airlines A330 in business class. A delicious meze sampler along with sea bass baked in parchment, baba ganoush, cheese and dessert. All served at once due to the short flight, but every bite was amazingly good. And filling.

United Airlines (Chris McGinnis)

United has really upped its game this year food-wise and this “rustic quiche” with chicken/mozzarella sausage and roasted multi-colored potatoes (perfectly plated) on an SFO-Newark flight is a prime example. What a nice meal and pleasant change from the old omelet. Trip Report: United p.s. business class SFO-EWR

Singapore Airlines business class (Chris McGinnis)

A beautifully fresh, well-presented starter of poached prawns and roasted cauliflower with a lovely lemon vinaigrette on my recent trip to Singapore on Singapore Air’s new 17-hour A350 nonstop. Read full post

Turkish Airlines (Chris McGinnis)

I’ve never seen inflight food service like I had in both directions on Turkish Airlines between SFO and Istanbul. This plate of chicken skewers was one of several choices, cooked to perfection and beautifully presented. See my Trip Report SFO-IST on Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines (Chris McGinnis)

The best dessert I had all year was also on Turkish Airlines- this was a perfectly cool, sweet and velvety panna cotta served with raspberries and cream. I could have eaten only this and been satisfied!

Qantas (Chris McGinnis)

After getting one of the best night’s sleep ever upstairs in the bubble on a Qantas 747 between SFO and Sydney, this big, filling and delicious breakfast filled the bill. I’m always a big fan of beans with my eggs when traveling in the UK or its former colonies. What you don’t see in this photo is the flight attendant in the galley making hot toast on request! See my full Qantas Trip Report here.

Virgin America (Chris McGinnis)

I fly Virgin America a lot, and my go-to meal in economy class is the protein plate, which includes an egg, sliced turkey, carrots, tomatoes, cucumber, cheese grapes and edamame hummus along with pita. That and an Honest T green tea makes for a healthy and satisfying snack or lunch. Don’t miss my Virgin America SFO-Honolulu Trip Report

Qantas (Chris McGinnis)

Again on Qantas, theis somewhat plain-looking vanilla custard for dessert was the perfect end to a great meal on the 14-hour transpac crossing.

Cathay Pacific (Chris McGinnis)

Whenever I fly Cathay Pacific, I make it a point to get to the airport early to have a bowl of fresh, made-to-order soup in its lovely lounge at SFO.

What’s the best meal you’ve ever had at 35,000 feet? Please share a description or photo in the comments.

The Qantas kangaroo gets a modernized redesign on the tail of its new 787-9s. (Image: Qantas)

Qantas will start taking delivery of new 787-9 Dreamliners late next year, and it has just unveiled details of the passenger cabins for the new planes – which will gradually take over the long-haul routes now served by 747s. It’s also got a new, more streamlined look.

The update to its iconic Kangaroo logo is only the fifth time the red-and-white image on the tail of Qantas aircraft has been updated since it was first introduced in 1944. The last update was in 2007 to coincide with the introduction of the Airbus A380 to the national carrier’s fleet.

Among the changes you’ll see in coming years:

A streamlined Kangaroo on the tail of the aircraft, with shading to give it a sense of depth and movement. The Kangaroo itself has been simplified for a cleaner, more modern look.

A silver band has been added to the rear of the aircraft, flowing from the tail through to the rear of the fuselage for a more premium feel and more contrast between the red tail and the rest of the aircraft.

A new, slimmer font for the world ‘Qantas’ on the side of the aircraft and the color made slightly lighter.

The word Qantas is added to the belly for increased visibility when aircraft are flying overhead.

Adding the Kangaroo to the inside curved edge of the wingtips so that they are in-flight and meaning they will also appear in pictures people take out the aircraft windows.

History of the Qantas logo

The new 236-passenger Qantas Dreamliners (not due on runways til late next year) will offer 42 business class suites in a 1-2-1 layout; 28 seats in the premium economy section, configured 2-3-2; and 166 regular economy seats, with a 3-3-3 layout.

The business and the economy cabin will each have a self-service bar where passengers can pick up drinks and snacks. The new planes will also have a redesigned, more streamlined kangaroo image on their tails.

New 787-9 business suites are an update of the business cabins on Qantas’ A330s. (Image: Qantas)

Business seats will recline fully flat to a bed that’s 80 inches long – and passengers will have “the ability to stay reclined during takeoff and landing,” Qantas said. The two middle seats will have an adjustable privacy screen in between them, and all business seats will be 23 to 24 inches wide, offering power and USB ports along with a personal entertainment device with a 16-inch touchscreen.

Qantas described the business suites as the “next generation” of the business cabin recently installed on its A330 fleet.

“The direct flights on these routes will have a lot of premium traffic, so we think it will be very heavily patronized by business class and premium economy customers,” Qantas CEO Alan Joyce told Australian Business Traveler. “We’re also redesigning the in-flight experience for the Dreamliner, from rethinking our menus to making better use of the self-service bars during different phases of flight.” He also told the publication the airline hasn’t yet decided whether the new Dreamliners will offer in-flight Wi-Fi.

The economy cabin will have a new seat design that comes with a “personal device holder” and an individual USB port, increased storage areas, a high-def 12-inch touchscreen, and “a seat-back mood light designed to minimize disturbance for other passengers.” The economy seats will also provide an additional inch of pitch compared with Qantas’ A380s, for a total pitch of 32 inches; six-inch seat recline; and an improved “footnet” that cradles the legs during sleep.

Qantas said details on the aircraft’s premium economy cabin won’t be released until early next year, but it promised that cabin will offer “a class leading experience and a revolutionary new seat.” The airline said it will soon announce the initial routes where the 787-9 will be deployed- we would not be surprised to see the lucrative SFO-SYD run on the short list for those flights since the 747s on the route will be phased out.

Qantas has a new way for loyalty program members to earn points. (Image: QANTAS)

Partnerships with hotel chains have been a mainstay of airline loyalty programs for decades. And now a “sharing economy” enterprise that some see as a threat to the hotel business is slowly wading into the same pool.

That enterprise is Airbnb, which has been making a concerted effort in recent months to court business travelers with things like automatic links to corporate expense reporting systems and up-front information about the business traveler-friendliness of its member properties. And it has seen business traveler bookings surge as a result. The obvious next step was airline loyalty programs.

Qantas just announced a new tie-in with Airbnb that will let its customers earn points in its frequent flyer program when they book through the Qantas website (www.qantas.com). Participants can earn one Qantas point for every dollar they spend on Airbnb accommodations worldwide, if they book through the Qantas site.

“We know many of our customers are just as likely to arrange an Airbnb as they are to book a hotel, and we wanted to recognize and reward them for that,” said Qantas CEO Alan Joyce.

This modern two BR Victorian in San Francisco’s Noe Valley is $300/night (Image: Airbnb)

Qantas isn’t the first airline to do this. About a year ago, Virgin America entered into a similar partnership with Airbnb for bookings made via a link at the Virgin website. Members of Virgin’s Elevate program earn one point per dollar spent on Airbnb. Members who have never used Airbnb before and create an account get a one-time bonus of 1,500 Elevate points and a $20 Airbnb credit. Virgin’s tie-in with Airbnb is currently effective through October 2017.

Meanwhile, United just added Airbnb to the vendors listed on its MileagePlus X smartphone app. The new partnership allows users to rack up three MileagePlus miles per dollar spent at Airbnb. If you aren’t using MileagePlus X yet, here’s a link to get started.

And American Express has a tie-in with Airbnb that lets its Membership Rewards participants pay with program points for Airbnb bookings. Members must create an Airbnb profile with their American Express login.

Readers: Would you be more likely to book Airbnb if it was affiliated with your primary airline? Post comments below.

Remember when the posh Ritz in Parisclosed down almost two years ago for a full renovation? Well, it appears that cocktails at the Hemingway Bar should help foot the bill for the redo. TravelSkills reader BD sent us a photo of the drinks menu– each cocktail is 30 euros- about $35. Sante! Rooms this summer start at 1,100 euros or about $1,250.

Last week I sat down at SFO with Gareth Evans, Qantas’s CEO of international operations. He was in the U.S. to meet with American Airlines and celebrate that carrier’s launch of new nonstop between Los Angeles and Auckland, a further expansion of its joint venture with Qantas on transpacific flights.

Here are a few bits and pieces from that conversation:

Qantas CEO International Gareth Evans (Photo: Qantas)

>If you’ve been flying to LAX much lately, you may have noticed a huge white hangar being built on the airport’s southwest corner. Later this year, that will open as the largest A380 maintenance hangar in the U.S. and house all of Qantas administrative offices. Since Qantas aircraft spend so much time on the ground in LA, the airline does a lot of maintenance work on the big birds there.

>Qantas re-launched its SFO-Sydney nonstops last year, and since then, San Francisco has emerged as the #1 destination for Australian business travelers to the U.S., beating out both New York and Los Angeles. (See our Trip Report: Qantas 747-400 business class SFO-Sydney)

>While business travel is big business for Qantas, Evans said that the recent strengthening of the U.S. dollar has resulted in a lot more leisure traffic with passengers responding well to the carrier’s message that Australia is not as far away as many people may think. The “Eat, watch a movie, have a sleep and wake up in Australia” pitch seems to be working.

Qantas’ newest business suite seat, currently on its A330s only (Photo: Qantas)

>Qantas still operates 11 747s, and plans to keep the graceful old planes flying “into the beginning of the next decade.” In the meantime, the carrier is focused on rolling out its new fully flat, forward facing “business suite” seats on its A330s and eventually its 787 Dreamliners. Currently it has eight firm Dreamliner orders, and will get the first one in October 2017. Will Qantas eventually replace the 747s with Dreamliners on the SFO-SYD route? Evans said that the potential is there, but it’s too early to say. Plus, Qantas 747s now carry about 360 passengers, vs the 200 passengers a Dreamliner can accommodate.

>The new “mini-suite” seat is currently on Qantas’ A330s only (none of which fly to the U.S.). Evans pointed out that the new seat is allowed to take off in a partially reclined position, which means passengers can relax and get to sleep faster. Business class passengers will be able to request that the seat be made into a bed prior to boarding, too. Because sleep is so important to long-haul business travelers, Evans said that those on an overnight flight departing Sydney could arrive at the airport, eat a meal in the lounge, change into pajamas, board and get to sleep almost immediately. (Check out the Australian Business Travelerreview of the business suite seat.)

>The new behind-security connector between American Airlines Terminal 4 and the new Tom Bradley international terminal has made life much easier for passengers transiting between Qantas and American. Within about two weeks, both arriving and departing passengers will have a seamless connection.

>At SFO, it appears that Qantas business class passengers will continue to use the Air France/KLM lounge. Due to overcrowding issues, only a handful of super-elite passengers get access to Oneworld partner Cathay Pacific’s lounge. Evans said that the AF/KLM lounge was recently upgraded, so we reached out to Air France’s Thomas Walsh for details on that. Here’s what he said:

We are still finishing up the renovations but they are almost complete. We’ve replaced the darker, library look with a more bright, modern finishes with approximately 145 seats (previously 108). This week we will complete the addition of over 130 power and usb power outlets. We’ve added a new granite work-top counter all the way around the lounge, where clients can take in the views, while using their laptop, enjoying a snack and sipping a glass of champagne. We will add a smaller footprint reception desk in a few weeks, as well.

More seats, more plugs and better views from the new marble-topped counter (Photo: Thomas Walsh)

We have yet to decide on artwork for the walls as the paint has barely dried. I would love to find a local artist or organization that we can support by displaying their crafts. We continue to look to refresh the food items, mixing warmer comfort roasted vegetables and soups at night while also trying some passed hors d’oeuvres every hour.

The secret staircase at the back of a Cathay Pacific Boeing 777 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

After a long holiday travel weekend, and yet another hot, crowded summer ahead, it seems time for another look at some of the secret spacious spaces we’ve recently discovered onboard planes.

Back in 2012 I had the chance to ride on one of Cathay Pacific’s brand new Boeing 777-300ERs from the factory in Seattle to Hong Kong. We created a video of the crew rest area during that flight, which caused an internet sensation.

To this day, it is by far the most popular video we have produced, snagging about 700,000 views so far.

A brand new Boeing 777-300 ER at the factory in Seattle (Chris McGinnis)

I took the video on a “delivery flight” from the Boeing factory to Cathay Pacific’s HQ in Hong Kong, so there were only about 80 passengers on a jumbo jet that can carry about 350. While the seats and service were fine, I was curious to see the large crew rest area on this plane.

Since long-range aircraft like the Boeing 777 can fly nonstop for 16-18 hours, airlines are required to offer rest areas for inflight crews who work on shifts.

On the Cathay Pacific 777, the rest area is located above the economy class section at the rear of the plane. It’s accessed via a non-descript door in the galley area. There’s another rest area (which I did not see) for pilots at the front of the plane.

One of eight sleeping pods for flight attendants on a Cathay 777 (Chris McGinnis)

So go have a look— it might be the only time you’ll ever see a crew rest area since visits by passengers on regularly scheduled flights are forbidden.

Your TravelSkills editor enjoying a quick lounge in the crew rest area on a Cathay Pacific 777 (Chris McGinnis)

Luckily, that was not the only time I was allowed inside one of these secret spaces. Read on for more recent visits….

A brand new Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 at the factory in Seattle (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

We were also invited up to Seattle to see Singapore Airline’s newest B777 in 2013 to prepare this report and slideshow, and to grab this image of the peach pink confines of its crew rest area:

You may recall that I recently flew on a Qantas 747 from San Francisco to Sydneyin March. Well, minutes before that flight departed, I was allowed onboard to photograph the interior of the plane.

View from the QANTAS jaw-dropping first class lounge in Sydney. Crew rest area is located behind the windows on the bubble. (Chris McGinnis)

While doing so, I noticed flight attendants entering the secret staircase to the crew rest area and asked if I could slip in for a quick video, and they obliged! See below look at that!

A look inside the crew rest area on a Qantas 747-400 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Here’s how we described the experience in that TravelSkills.com post: Due to my status as a travel writer, I received a special favor– I asked if I could board five minutes early so I could get some good photos of the plane before it filled up with passengers. At the last minute my wish was granted, so I scrambled on board, up the “stairway to heaven,” threw my bags down and took off with flight attendant Jerry for a quick tour of the plane INCLUDING a look at the secret crew rest area in the aft section of the “bubble” with access via a special stairway from the main deck. See that video here (or below). This big bird has a crew of 14 flight attendants and four pilots and on a 14+ hour flight, they need a place to hide!

So as we all prepare to depart on packed flights this summer, it’s nice to know that there are some spacious seats somewhere onboard! Have you ever seen one of these spacious spaces? Please leave your comments below.

A QANTAS 747-400 parked at Sydney’s Kingsford Smith International Airport. Note the Sydney skyline in the background! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Last month I took a dive to the land down under on a big QANTAS 747-400 in business class on its recently restored nonstops between San Francisco International and Sydney.

Highlights of this 14-hour flight include:

A business class lounge that exceeded my expectations

One of the best nights of sleep I’ve ever had onboard a plane

A spin through an empty 747 including the secret crew rest area

Bottled water that helps with jet lag

Pajamas worth changing into

Dramatic view from the cockpit on approach to SYD

A raucous greeting in Sydney that will make you smile

One of the easiest train rides from airport to city I’ve experienced in a while

Currently, QANTAS economy class roundtrip fares between San Francisco and Sydney are in the $1,400 range (but can dip as low as $1,000 during periodic fare sales). Premium economy fares are about $3,000 round trip, and business class roundtrips run from about $8,000 to $10,000. QANTAS does not offer first class on its SFO-SYD flights. United and QANTAS offer the only nonstops between SFO and SYD and their fares are identical.*

QANTAS covered the cost of my flights, but TravelSkills paid for hotels, meals and transfers related to this five-day trip.

So glad to be upstairs on the 747! Wow! (Chris McGinnis)

Checking in at SFO for an 11:25 pm departure was fast and easy. My ticket did not allow me to select a seat ahead of time, so I was worried that I’d be stuck in one of the few middle seats in business class. So I arrived at the airport early planning to spend a couple hours working in the lounge. Lo and behold, at check in there was one seat left upstairs in the “business class bubble” so I snagged it! Seat 14B is an aisle exit row, so I had miles of legroom. How much? See this.

At SFO, QANTAS passengers must use the Air France / KLM lounge. While I was hoping that I might be able to slip into the lounges of Oneworld partners such as British Airways or Cathay Pacific, I learned that due to crowding issues at night, QANTAS passengers are only provided access to the Air France / KLM Lounge.

QANTAS uses the Air France lounge at SFO- this is one of two rooms (Chris McGinnis)

My expectations for the lounge were set low– I had heard that there was nothing special about this lounge. But when I entered, I was greeted nicely by two fun and interesting agents who explained to me that I had to be sure and see BOTH rooms in the lounge. Apparently, many lounge visitors think the lounge is just the first room you see (above). But there’s a somewhat hidden door that leads to a much larger room with a big buffet, and plenty of tables and chairs. The back room was definitely where the action was.

A relic from its Northwest Airlines past- the Air France lounge still sports a fireplace (Chris McGinnis)

This lounge used to belong to Northwest Airlines. Remember when most NWA lounges had fireplaces? This relic (not working) is still there, which adds a homey feel to the space. Apparently the fireplace will be removed next time this lounge is updated.

A friendly attendant passes around cups of warm fried rice that hits the spot at 10 pm (Chris McGinnis)

What the Air France / KLM lounge lacks in atmosphere is made up for in the service you get once inside. As I said, the door agents were fun and friendly (we joked about feeling French when flying to Australia). Inside the lounge, servers were all over the place, passing snacks, cleaning up and interacting with travelers. I arrived early, and the place was pretty empty, but as flight time approached, seat space became scant– it was a good thing that they had staffed up for the crunch.

I was impressed by the amount and variety of food and drink on offer at the KLM / AF lounge that QANTAS uses. The lounge also had a noisy and convivial feel– mostly Australians enjoying a beer and time with friends and colleagues on their way home.

Stairway to heaven: inside the business class bubble on a 747 (Chris McGinnis)

Due to my status as a travel writer, I received a special favor– I asked if I could board five minutes early so I could get some good photos of the plane before it filled up with passengers. At the last minute my wish was granted, so I scrambled on board, up the “stairway to heaven,” threw my bags down and took off with flight attendant Jerry for a quick tour of the plane INCLUDING a look at the secret crew rest area in the aft section of the “bubble” with access via a special stairway from the main deck. See that here or scroll to the bottom for the video. This big bird has a crew of 14 flight attendants and four pilots and on a 14+ hour flight, they need a place to hide!

There’s not a better place in the world than upstairs in business class on a Boeing 747-400. On QANTAS there are 18 seats up here configured 2-2 with a galley in the back and a lavatory and door to the cockpit up front. I was seated in 14B- the seat (seen below) with the suitcase in front of it. Not only is it in the cosy confines of the business class bubble, it’s an exit row seat. Upside of this seat: limitless legroom and no interference from your neighbor getting up. Downside: In seat storage is almost nil– window seat passengers get those nice big bins along the windows, but aisle seats don’t. Another downside with this seat: it’s tough seeing out the windows.

QANTAS 747-400 business class seats are the same ones you’ll find on its A380s– fully flat, lumbar controls and with a nice massage feature. The massage was nice, but controlling it via these buttons was difficult.

There is no wi-fi onboard QANTAS 747s.

Main deck business class on QANTAS 747-400 (Image: Seatguru)

Row 1 on the main deck- I call these “windshield seats” because of the curvature of the plane in the nose (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

While upstairs is nice, downstairs in the nose of the 747 is a pretty nice space, too. Especially if you are seated in row 1– these seats are super private and quiet and insiders say that this is usually where QANTAS seats its superstar VIP guests.

The best seats on the main deck are row 1 (for privacy) and also row 5 if you are traveling alone- that’s because these two seats (B&J) are solo seats– there’s no one seated next to you. See what I mean here on the 747-400 V2 three class layout on SeatGuru. Seats to avoid if possible would be the three middle seats on row 5, 6, 7 and 8.

Economy class on QANTAS 747 configured 3-4-3 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

There are 270 economy class seats on this big bird. One cabin is green (pictured), the other is pinkish maroon. The best seats are those in the mid-cabin area. Avoid seats at the front or the rear of the cabins due to lines that form near lavatories.

Back upstairs in business class… we took off on time at 11:25 pm. Shortly thereafter, a mad rush for the lavatory ensued as everyone was eager to change into pajamas for the long night ahead. This was also the time that flight attendants helped passengers position nice quilted cotton seat covers over cushions that really helped with the coziness factor of the cabin. (See below)

QANTAS SFO flight departs at 11:25 pm and arrives SYD about 14 hours later at about 8:00 am two days later (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

I’m usually not one to fuss over pajamas, but on a 14+ hour flight it was very nice to change into a shirt I’d not spent the night in. Plus, you get to keep the PJs for use at home (or for gifting those who did not get to go on this trip).

Salmon with spinach & sauteed eggplant (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

I was disappointed that we did not get any menus on this flight… I usually like to peruse and photograph them. But on this flight there was a snafu due to the change from February to March, and the menus did not get loaded. So my choice was made based on a description provided by the flight attendant. I chose to go with salmon and was not disappointed. It tasted delicious, and was a right sized portion. Not pictured is the bread– flight attendants roll out two big loaves of warm bread (sourdough and whole wheat) which they offer while serving the main course. Warm bread is always nice.

Since I knew I’d be trying to sleep on this flight, I ate about half my entree and a few bites of this cool and velvety vanilla custard. After that, it was time to hit the sack on my cozy quilted lie flat seat.

Quilted seat covers help! Flight attendants place them at passengers’ request before or after meal (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

I tried to watch “The Intern” after my meal, but started to doze off. Once I put my seat down, Jerry was there with a bottle of flower-enhanced Balance water– supposedly to help with jet lag. You know what? It worked! No jet lag at all on this trip. But that might have more to do with the fact that I slept for 8 hours on this flight…. amazing because I rarely get 8 hours at home!

Here’s what worked for me: First, of course is the true lie-flat seat upstairs on a 747. Second, I made it a point to eat lightly and only had one glass of wine with dinner. Third, on this flight I tried using Mack’s Moldable Silicone Earplugs– each one is a small plug of translucent putty that covers up your entire ear canal and truly blocks out all sound. That, along with my Bucky eyemask and I was down for the count!

Special jet lag water provided to get you through the night (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

On this flight I slept for nearly 8 hours — I remember falling asleep as we approached Hawaii and I woke up with only about 2-3 hours flying time left! Wow!

I could not believe my eyes when I woke up and looked at my watch at around 6 am Sydney time. Perfect time for a flat white!

Woke up to a fine flat white prepared by flight attendant (Chris McGinnis)

I strolled back to the galley to find the second of two flight attendants plating breakfast and making toast in a big toaster– that burnt bread smell reminded me of breakfast at my Canadian Granny’s house!

After a full night of sleep and a flat white, I was raring to go. In that sharpened state, I asked our flight attendant if I could pass my camera to the pilots to take some shots of the approach to SYD. They agreed and took about 30 shots- the best of which I posted below. Very cool!

A quick thanks to the crew for helping me out with some photos (Chris McGinnis)

Arrival at Sydney was quick and easy via kiosk. No lines at all at 8 am.

Quick and easy entry via kiosk at SYD (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Now this was a surprise: Sydney’s big Mardi Gras festival was taking place during the week I was there… and the airport had drag queens welcoming flights– which caused quite a stir as we filed past them. One of them looked at me and said, “Sir, you must have flown in business class because you are looking fresh as a flower this morning!” I had to agree– and pose for a few selfies 🙂

Since it was Mardi Gras in Sydney, our flight was greeted by some festive drag queens. What a welcome! (Chris McGinnis)

Getting into the city for my meetings was a cinch using the quick and easy Airport Link, which takes about 20 minutes to reach the Central Business District or “CBD” as Sydneysiders say.

A quick, easy, one-seat ride from airport to central business district or CBD (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Remember last year when we wrote about Verizon’s new TravelPass? $10 per day flat fee for data and voice. I signed up immediately and I really like how it removes a lot of the uncertainty about using my smartphone overseas– worked like a dream in Australia. Are there any other Verizon-using globetrotters feel similarly? Or not? I know a lot of readers think T-Mobile’s international plan is better, but the reality for me is that T-Mobile does not work in my house, or in many parts of San Francisco. Please leave comments below.

NASA’s new SST design could fly over land without creating a sonic boom that disturbs the people below. (Image: NASA)

Links to stories from other sources that we thought you’d like to read:

Everybody who uses in-flight Wi-Fi tends to complain about the slow speeds, lost signals and so on, but if travelers can hang on a bit longer, it looks like significant improvements are coming. Gogo, one of the leading providers of the service, just inked a big new satellite deal, and a European consultancy sees a bright future for the technology, which is spreading to more aircraft and more airlines.

Gogo said it has signed “one of the largest satellite capacity deals ever” in the commercial airline market with a satellite operator called SES, in order “to meet the growing demand for high-speed in-flight connectivity.”

The deal will give Gogo access to a pair of SES satellites due to be launched next year that will cover all of North America, Central and South America, the Caribbean and the North Atlantic. A third satellite, also due to launch in 2017, will expand Gogo’s coverage to flights over Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Russia.

“This deal will dramatically increase bandwidth and drive overall costs per bit down by orders of magnitude,” Gogo chief technology officer Anand Chariu said. The satellites will provide “high throughput spot beam and wide beam capacity,” the company said—in other words, much greater bandwidth and download speeds. And airlines already signed up for Gogo’s 2Ku technology will be able to transition to the newer satellite service “without any equipment modifications.” The new satellites will also increase capacity for Gogo’s live TV product, Gogo TV. Gogo has been gradually transitioning its service from ground-based to satellite-based technology.

Gogo’s news comes on the heels of a recent lawsuit filed against it by American Airlines, which sought to invoke an escape clause in its contract with Gogo so it could look for faster Wi-Fi service from other vendors. The suit was dropped this week after Gogo said it wouldn’t challenge American’s plans, and that it expected to give American a better proposal of its own.

Earlier this month, the global consulting firm Euroconsult issued a report predicting that revenues from passenger connectivity services on airlines will grow from $700 million last year to $5.4 billion within a decade. It said that the number of connected aircraft jumped by 21 percent just in the 12 months of 2015, and that the ongoing launch of “high throughput satellites” (HTS) including Ku- and Ka-band “is expected to be a game changer in the in-flight connectivity market.”

“HTS systems will not only tremendously increase data speeds to the plane compared to regular satellite systems, but will also significantly lower costs, thereby further driving the adoption of IFC (in-flight connectivity) services,” said Euroconsult’s Geoffrey Stern. “With more airlines opting for cabin connectivity, companies that have not yet made a decision will be increasingly pressured to offer such services to match their competitors.”

The company said it expects that over the next decade, the number of connected commercial aircraft will grow from 5,300 to 23,100, or 62 percent of the global fleet.

Some airlines are already feeling the pressure. Air France, which has long been a holdout against in-flight Wi-Fi, said last week that it has changed its tune, and will start putting the technology into its international fleet later this year. The French carrier is said to be looking into a model like that in the hotel industry, which would provide basic service free to its passengers, while charging a fee for higher download speeds.

Meanwhile, Qantas said this week that in 2017 it plans to deploy free Wi-Fi for passengers on its domestic Australian routes, thanks to a partnership with ViaSat that will offer “speeds up to 10 times faster than conventional on-board Wi-Fi, giving customers the ability to stream movies, TV shows, the latest news bulletins and live sports.”

Qantas passengers in Sydney got to see an unusual sight: a five-engine 747. (Image: Qantas)

Four-engine passenger aircraft are slowly disappearing from the aviation scene as fuel-efficient, long-haul twin-engine planes replace them. So it was especially unusual when a five-engine jet appeared on a Sydney runway recently.

The Qantas 747 had the usual two engines suspended from its right wing, but there were three hanging from its left wing.

What was going on? Qantas had another 747 stranded in Johannesburg in need of a spare engine. And the airline’s engineers calculated that the most efficient and cost-effective way to get it there was to hang it from the wing as a form of external cargo.

Here’s what it looked like from inside the passenger cabin (image: Qantas):

Besides adding an extra 22,000 pounds — not exactly well-balanced — the extra engine also increased drag on the aircraft. As a result, the 747 had to make a stop in Perth to refuel.

The extra engine — which was not connected to the aircraft’s power or fuel systems –went on a regularly scheduled Qantas flight from Sydney to Johannesburg (QF63). The defective engine it replaced will be sent back to Australia by boat, Qantas said.

The airline noted that this is not new — it has been ferrying spare engines like this since it operated Boeing 707s at the beginning of the jet era. The last time it did so was in 2011.

In international route news, American has kicked off its new Australia service from Los Angeles; Air New Zealand has linked up with Star Alliance partner United at Houston; Delta inaugurated flights on three new Latin America routes; KLM will eliminate one U.S. gateway and add another; Kuwait Airways drops a U.S. route; and United will increase flights to Brussels.

At about the same time that Qantas started its Sydney-San Francisco 747 service this past weekend, its joint venture partner American Airlines launched its own new transpacific route to Sydney from Los Angeles International (a route also flown by Qantas, along with Melbourne-LAX). American’s daily flight uses a 310-passenger, three-class 777-300ER and departs LAX at 9:50 p.m. At the end of January, Qantas will trim its own Los Angeles-Sydney schedule from 14 flights a week to 10. It’s the first time in 23 years that American has flown to Australia.

Air New Zealand last week inaugurated its promised new service from Auckland to Houston Bush Intercontinental, where it offers connections via its Star Alliance partner United Airlines. The Kiwi carrier is using a 777-200ER with economy, Premium Economy and business class seating (with lie-flat seat-beds) for the route, which it flies five times a week. The westbound flight takes about 14-1/2 hours.

Delta added a trio of new routes to South America this past weekend. The carrier started new 767 service from Orlando to Sao Paulo, Brazil, operating four days a week (increasing to daily in March), and two routes from Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson to Colombia, both using 737s. Delta’s ATL-Medellin service operates daily, and ATL-Cartagena flies three times a week.

Instead of reviving its summer seasonal service from Amsterdam to Dallas/Ft. Worth next May, KLM reportedly plans to replace it with new Salt Lake City-Amsterdam service. The change is seen as benefiting KLM’s joint venture with Delta, which has a hub at Salt Lake City. The two carriers are reportedly looking to bolster the traffic feed to their new code-share partner Jet Airways for onward travel from AMS to India.

Facing a charge of unlawful discrimination from the U.S. Transportation Department, Kuwait Airways has discontinued the London Heathrow-New York JFK segment of its one-stop New York-Kuwait route. Last fall, DOT issued a cease-and-desist order to the airline after it learned that Kuwait Airways refused to sell a ticket to an Israeli citizen between London and New York. The airline maintained such a sale is barred by Kuwaiti law.

United Airlines said it plans to add a second daily flight next summer from its Newark hub to Brussels. The second flight will operate from May 5 through October 28; departures from May 25-September 6 will use a 214-seat 767-300, while earlier and later flights will use a 169-seat 757-200.

Bay Area travelers this month have a pair of welcome new nonstop options to Australia and India as carriers from those countries celebrated their inaugural trips to San Francisco International.

After a four-year hiatus, Qantas reactivated its Sydney-San Francisco non-stop route with an updated 747 that offers Business Class, Premium Economy and regular economy seating (no first class). Business Class has seats that recline fully flat, and the economy section offers self-serve snack bars.

Check out how QANTAS recently reconfigured its 747s to align with its A380 business class product here.

QANTAS business class seats recline to 180 degrees (Image: QANTAS)

QANTAS says that Business and Premium Economy passengers can enjoy a Ricotta, pea and prosciutto calzone, a dish is inspired by Chef Alice Waters from Chez Panisse in Berkeley. Business class passengers traveling to and from San Francisco will also be the first to experience Qantas’ new Kate Spade and Jack Spade amenity kits.

QANTAS does not have an airport lounge at SFO. Regrettably, its Oneworld partner Cathay Pacific does not have enough space in its gorgeous lounge, so QANTAS business class passengers get access to the KLM/Air France lounge on the A side of the international concourse.

Self service snack bars onboard QANTAS’ updated 747s (Photo: QANTAS)

The Australian carrier is initially flying the route four times a week, with westbound departures Friday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. It will increase to five a week in January, and to six a week starting in February. The flights are operated as part of Qantas’ joint venture with American Airlines.

DEAL ALERT: It is currently showing advance purchase economy fares starting as low as $999 roundtrip, while Premium Economy is priced from $2,999 and Business Class from $4,999. These introductory fares are available through December 31 at qantas.com/SFO

Air India’s first flight from New Delhi arrived at SFO before dawn. (Image: Peter Biaggi)

Earlier this month, Air India Flight 173 touched down at SFO as that carrier kicked off new non-stops from New Delhi with a 777-200LR. The 16-hour flight covers 7,670 miles. The airline originally planned to operate service between San Francisco and Bengaluru (Bangalore) in the southern part of India, but switched its plans to New Delhi instead.

Air India will fly the route three times a week, on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The 777 it uses has eight seats in first class, 35 in business class and 195 in economy. The San Francisco flights are Air India’s only service to the U.S. west coast; its other U.S. gateways include Chicago, New York JFK and Newark. According to media reports from India, the carrier now has its eye on new Washington D.C. service, but no timetable was mentioned.

Celebrating Air India’s arrival, employees fashioned a rangoli on the floor of the terminal. That’s a traditional art form using flowers or other natural materials, representing good luck and a welcome to Hindu deities. (Image: Peter Biaggi)

Currently, Air New Zealand has a monopoly on non-stop service between New Zealand and the U.S. mainland, with flights from Auckland to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Qantas used to compete on the non-stop LAX-Auckland route, but dropped it in 2012.

American will operate the daily New Zealand service with a 787-8 as part of its joint venture with Qantas, subject to regulatory approvals. The LAX departure will be at 10:45 p.m, arriving in Auckland at 6:35 a.m. two days later. American’s passengers will be able to connect at Auckland to 11 New Zealand destinations and to points in Australia via Qantas and its Jetstar subsidiary.

Fare war announced in New Zealand (click to read article)

Qantas and American have been ramping up their partnership in recent months, with plans to begin new non-stops next month between Los Angeles-Sydney (operated by American) and between San Francisco-Sydney (operated by Qantas). The LAX-Sydney market is already crowded, with service from Qantas, Delta, United and Virgin Australia.

Currently, the lowest nonstop roundtrip economy fares for June trips between California and New Zealand are in the $1,200 range. Business class is much higher at $5,100-$7,000 round trip on United and Air New Zealand nonstops, but only about $3,500 on one- stop Hawaiian Airlines flights via Honolulu.

With all the new services coming up between the U.S. and Australia/New Zealand, most observers expect to see lower air fares in the months ahead. Plus, with all that new capacity, it could get easier to redeem miles for those treasured trips to the Antipodes!

On October 14, Cathay Pacific opens a major addition to its business and first class lounge at San Francisco International Airport. Cathay’s is one of SFO’s most beautiful lounges…. and also one of its busiest.

The Hong Kong-based carrier invited TravelSkills out to the airport this week for a sneak peek at the new space and lunch at its famous noodle bar.

The main entrance with its striking marble desk and crystal curtain will remain unchanged (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Cathay is moving into adjacent space in the International Terminal (A side) once occupied by Air France/KLM. This means the lounge will nearly double in size from the current 5,500 square feet to a spacious 9,675 square feet, enough room for up to 175 guests.

Here’s a look at the unfinished main addition to the Cathay lounge (Chris McGinnis)

A wall of windows brightens the big space with views over the tarmac and up to the hills across Highway 101.

Cathay is adding three new shower suites for a total of six (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

The number of Carrera marble and river-pebble sheathed shower suites will double from three to six, which should help with the evening rush when around 15 flyers opt to clean up before their flight.

A new deli counter along with an Italian espresso machine in the new space (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Along with the expanded space comes an expanded menu and a new deli counter and espresso bar (manned by a barista).

Many guests opt to eat a full hot meal in the lounge, then sleep on the plane (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

To handle the extra load, a new free wi-fi system is in place.

There will be 14 of Cathay’s mod-yet-cozy Solus chairs in the new space- up from the current 3 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

The extra space is definitely needed as airlines play musical lounges over the next few years– and share space with Cathay.

Currently, business and first class flyers on Etihad’s daily nonstop to Abu Dhabi use the Cathay lounge in the early morning hours. Around midday, the lounge is primarily populated by those on Cathay’s 1 pm departure to Hong Kong, as well as a few passengers from Alaska Airlines, which lost its lounge to construction in Terminal 1.

Later in the day the Cathay lounge takes in the overflow Oneworld partner British Airways, itslounge now straining for space due its new A380 flight with 111 biz and first class seats. (Also, BA’s lounge is due for closure and renovation later this winter). And from about 9 pm until 1 am, the lounge hosts Cathay passengers traveling on its 1 am departure to Hong Kong– as well as overflow from the JAL lounge.

And although no decision has been made, we’ve heard that QANTAS is sniffing around for lounge space at SFO when its new Boeing 747 SFO-Sydney nonstops arrive in late December. I’m betting that QANTAS will squeeze in the barely used Emirates lounge due to their partnership. But stay tuned…

Have you had a chance to visit Cathay’s lounge at SFO or elsewhere? Did you try the noodles? What did you think? Please leave your comments below.

Marriott guests can ask for virtual reality sets to be delivered to their rooms. (Image: Marriott)

Virtual reality (VR) technology, still in its infancy, is slowly creeping into the travel industry. In the latest development, Marriott said it will make VR equipment and content available in guestrooms of two properties as a market test.

The participating hotels are the New York Marriott Marquis and the London Marriott Park Lane.

Guests who want to try out VR will be able to ask for a Samsung Gear headset and headphones to be delivered to their rooms, along with instructions. They can use the equipment for up to 24 hours to sample new exclusive content developed for the program called VR Postcards.

The first three content offerings are travel experiences, which users will be able to see in 360-degree 3D as they listen to a traveler’s narration. They include a visit to the AndesMountains in Chile, an ice cream shop in Rwanda and a walk through the streets of Beijing.

It’s the second venture into VR for Marriott, which last fall conducted a multi-city tour of VR Teleporters — phone-booth-like units that individuals could step inside. There, they were fitted out with an Oculus Rift VR headset and wireless headphones. The programming included not only 360-degree 3D video, but also realistic computer-generated imagery, and the booth added “4-D” elements to the experience, like heat, mist and wind.

Flying in virtual reality on Qantas. (Image: Qantas)

Earlier this year, Qantas conducted a three-month trial offering Samsung VR headsets to first class passengers on its A380 flights between Los Angeles and Australia, and in its first class lounges at Sydney and Melbourne.

And Emirates last fall used VR to show off its A380 aircraft at a trade show. Visitors put on Oculus Rift headsets and used Google Street View technology to go on virtual tours of the aircraft’s interior.

The big question for travel companies: If customers can use virtual reality to immerse themselves in a 3-D, sound-enhanced travel experience, where’s the incentive for them to actually travel?

British Airways will start flying a 787-9 to Austin next winter. (Image: British Airways)

In international route news, American is adding several Latin America and Caribbean services; British Airways sets 787-9 schedules; a Mexican carrier begins New York flights; Qantas will trim LAX runs; Delta extends a Paris route; United cuts back to Panama; and Air Canada eyes India.

American has announced some new, mostly low-frequency services to Latin America and the Caribbean. Exceptions to the low frequencies include Los Angeles-Mexico City, which begins September 3 with twice-daily 737 flights; and Dallas/Ft. Worth-Quito, Ecuador, with five weekly roundtrips beginning December 18. Also on December 18, AA will start twice-weekly LAX-Montego Bay, Jamaica service, and on December 19 it will add once-a-week flights from Charlotte to Curacao and to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic as well as DFW-Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

British Airways will start flying new 787-9s this fall, and it has targeted its London Heathrow-Austin route for an equipment upgrade from a 777-200ER to a 787-9 as of February 1, 2016. Other BA 787-9 routes include LHR-Delhi, starting October 15; LHR-Abu Dhabi/Muscat as of October 16, and LHR-Kuala Lumpur effective December 5. Unlike most of the new 787-9s that are coming into service on several airlines, British Airways’ version will offer a first class cabin in addition to business, premium economy and economy.

Mexican carrier Volaris has added new service out of New York’s JFK International, operating three flights a week (Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays) to Guadalajara.

With American’s new Los Angeles-Sydney service due to begin December 17, joint venture partner Qantas will trim its LAX-Sydney schedule the next day, reducing frequencies from 14 a week to 12, and then cutting them again from 12 to 10 starting January 23. Meanwhile, Qantas has set the schedule for its new San Francisco-Sydney flights. They’ll start December 18 with five 747-400 flights a week, increasing to six a week February 2; SFO departure time is 11:25 p.m. SEE UPDATE BELOW

Delta said that effective October 25, its Boston-Paris Charles de Gaulle route will no longer be seasonal but will operate year-round, flown with a 757-200 as part of its joint venture operation with Air France.

United is scaling back its Denver-Panama City, Panama service. The daily service will end September 7, resuming as seasonal service December 18, but with just two flights a week.

On November 1, Air Canada will kick off a new very-long-haul route, from Toronto to Delhi, India. The Canadian carrier will fly the route four times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday) with a new 787-9, fitted with business class, premium economy and regular economy seating. It will increase frequencies to daily at the end of October 2016.

UPDATE from Qantas regarding SFO service:

December – Qantas will have 8 services operating on December 18, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29 and 30

January – Qantas will have 5 flights per week operating on Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri and Sun

Late January/February onwards – Qantas will have 6 flight per week operating on Mon, Tues, Wed, Thu, Fri and Sun

Interesting: Did you know that with the addition of new, supercharging stations, Tesla drivers can now drive all the way across the continental US and up or down the east coast? It takes 30 minutes to supercharge a Tesla Model S (for free!), and that charge is good for about 170 miles. There are now 445 supercharging stations around the world, many of them solar-powered. (See image at the top)

American Airlines will make the Los Angeles-Sydney route into one of the most competitive across the Pacific when it starts service there on December 17, subject to government approvals. American announced the new route this week.

The route is already served by Delta, United, Virgin Australia and American’s joint venture partner Qantas, with whom American will coordinate schedules and pricing. The two will also partner on a revived San Francisco-Sydney route to be operated by Qantas starting December 20.

Current (late June) economy class roundtrip fares run in the $1,500-$2,000 range and business class comes in at around $6,000-$7,000. First is about $12,000.

Besides having a joint business venture across the Pacific, American and Qantas are both members of the Oneworld alliance.

American said its new LAX-SYD route will initially operate on “peak days,” increasing to six times a week in January. The carrier plans to use a three-class 777-300ER on the route, with premium cabins that feature all-aisle access, fully lie-flat seats and a walk-up bar; and a rear cabin that includes AA’s extra-legroom Main Cabin Extra seating as well as regular economy seats.

All seats come with personal entertainment systems offering up to 250 movies, 180 TV shows and hundreds of audio selections; international Wi-Fi service; and AC and USB ports.

“This expansion represents the natural evolution of the collaboration between American and Qantas, with revenue-sharing and other agreements that provide the airlines with a platform for closer commercial ties and an even more seamless customer experience on routes between North America and Australia/New Zealand,” American said. “The closer and more integrated relationship also provides opportunities for future growth into trans-Pacific markets not currently served by either airline, such as New Zealand.”

What do you think is the best way to fly to Australia? Do you think all the new competition will bring fares down at all? Please leave your comments below.

Qantas will bring back non-stop flights between San Francisco and Sydney on December 20, 2015 after a four year hiatus.

Initially, the flight will operated on peak days (see below) and ramp up to six B747-400 flights a week from January 2016. The new service will cut around four hours of travel time by removing the need to connect through LAX under the existing Qantas/American Airlines arrangements.

Currently, only United flies nonstop between SFO and Sydney and its current round trip economy class fares are in the $1,800 range. Business class is $8,000.

The new services form part of an expanded relationship with American Airlines which, subject to approval from regulators, will also see American launch non-stop flights from Los Angeles to Sydney.

I snapped this image of QANTAS’ final SFO flight in 2011 (Chris McGinnis)

Qantas ceased flying to San Francisco in 2011, when it instead started operating from American Airlines’ hub in Dallas/Fort Worth (in addition to its ongoing Honolulu, Los Angeles and New York services). This decision was also made in wake of the Global Financial Crisis, when business travel on the route dropped.

Qantas Group Chief Executive Officer, Alan Joyce, said Qantas had a special relationship with San Francisco.

“San Francisco was Qantas’ very first U.S. destination when we started our services across the Pacific in the 1950s. It remains a hugely popular destination for Australians and we’re thrilled to be going back after a gap of a few years,” said Mr Joyce.

The airlines say that they will shortly apply for regulatory approval for these new arrangements.

^SYD-SFO services will not operate on 23rd, 24th, 25th and 31st December 2015.

QANTAS will have business class seats like this one on it 747-400 flights between SFO & SYD (Image: QANTAS)

Under the expanded Qantas-American Airlines arrangement customers will be able to fly Qantas’ reconfigured B747-400 six times per week on the San Francisco-Sydney route; featuring the same product found on the airline’s A380s, including Marc Newson’s fully-flat Skybed in Business, award winning Economy cabin and large seat-back screens with over 1500 entertainment options. American Airlines will codeshare on these services.

Seating has been increased by 50 percent at the LAX Oneworld Business Lounge. (Image: Qantas)

Qantas, Cathay Pacific and British Airways have finished a substantial expansion of the Oneworld Business Lounge in the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport. The lounge is managed by Qantas.

The project increased seating capacity in the lounge from 400 to 600; tripled its total floor space; increased the number of shower suites from nine to 16; added six workstations equipped with iMacs; installed a dedicated dining area, a new cocktail bar and a Californian food cart; and put in a second buffet line with a make-your-own juice bar, hot dishes, salads, snacks and desserts.

Bar at the expanded Oneworld Business Lounge at LAX. (Image: Qantas)

The Business Lounge is available to Qantas, Cathay and British Airwats passengers booked in business class; Qantas Gold frequent flyer members, Cathay’s Marco Polo Gold members and BA Executive Club Silver members; Oneworld Sapphire-level members; and Qantas Club members.

Delta eyes 717s for LAX-SFO. Delta will put larger Boeing 717s onto eight daily Los Angeles-San Francisco “California Shuttle” flights starting June 4, retaining Embraer 175s on the other seven of its 15 daily flights, according to the website Airlineroute, which tracks planned service changes across the industry. Delta obtained scores of former AirTran 717s from Southwest and has been phasing them into service; last fall, it replaced some of the 76-seat E175s on its LaGuardia-Boston shuttle with 110-seat, two-class 717s. And Delta plans to put 717s onto its LAX-Portland and LAX-Las Vegas routes in June as well. Been on a Delta 717? What did you think?

Storm warning. Yet another big winter storm (this time named “Linus”) is expected to hit a wide swath of the northern US and could affecting flying this week. Details. Plan accordingly.

United on the move at ATL. United is moving its Atlanta operations from distant Concourse D to close-in Concourse T at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson. The T-gates are located alongside the main terminal building, which means that passengers can walk from the curb to the plane without having to descend into the giant airport’s bowels for a ride on the “Plane Train.” A United spokesperson told TravelSkills that the United Club on Concourse D closes this weekend and that it is “in the process of evaluating potential opportunities to build a new United Club in the T Concourse.” From ATL, United flies to Newark, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington Dulles and Houston.

United bows out in Dallas Love battle. Southwest Airlines has nabbed two more highly contested gates at Dallas Love Field, giving it 18 of the small airport’s 20 gates. It subleased the gates from United, which will move out of Love to concentrate its operations at Dallas Ft Worth. (United used the Love gates for a handful of regional jet flights to Houston.) Delta currently has temporary authority to serve Love Field with five daily nonstops to Atlanta, but only until July 6. Southwest plans to use the new gates to add nonstops to Memphis, Milwaukee and Seattle and beef up frequencies to cities it already serves.

Cathay biz class sale. Cathay Pacific is offering some decent discounts for business class flights from the US to several cities across the Pacific. Examples: West coast US to Australia in biz class is running about $8,000 round trip. From the US to most cities in Asia, business class is running around $5,200. Worth a look if you or your company can spring for biz class. The catch: You must book 90 days in advance.

Fares to Europe are not as high as we expected, but probably won’t stay this low for long

Europe fares for Summer. We keep hearing about how expensive it’s going to be to fly to Europe this summer due to high demand from Americans with fists full of strong US dollars. BUT, we’ve seen some very good deals for summer trips if you book now. Using the new FLYR site we found these examples: Aer Lingus nonstops between New York and Dublin were running at just $762 for June roundtrips this week, and just $1050 in the peak month of July. From San Francisco Bay Area, SAS or Norwegian Air are currently the cheapest way to get to Europe this summer– Norwegian out of Oakland is pressuring all carriers to discount fares, and we are seeing some roundtrips to Europe running as low as $1,000 to $1,200 during peak summer months. Considering Europe this summer? Might want to check fares now because US-Europe roundtrips during peak summer could easily exceed $2,000 in coming months.

Alaska extends free entertainment. Passengers on many Alaska Airlines flights will continue to get free premium movies and TV shows streamed via their personal electronic devices for another two months — i.e., through the end of March. (That’s in addition to the usual no-fee list of some 100 titles.) More than half of the airline’s fleet is currently equipped with streaming technology, and all aircraft should have it by April, Alaska said. And on its long-haul flights, the company has started renting Microsoft In-flight Entertainment tablets (available free to first class flyers and MVP Gold 75Ks) with a selection of films, games, magazines, music and Internet access. The fee is $8-$10.

From Delta regarding international wifi progress

Here’s the latest on Delta’s rollout of inflight wifi on its international fleet, which is progressing more slowly than expected. Among US carriers, Delta has about 37% of its international fleet outfitted with wi-fi— primarily on its 747s and A330s but coverage is sparse on its much larger fleet of 777s and 767s.

In-flight innovations: Southwest, Virgin Atlantic. Airlines have been known to host band performances at the airport — JetBlue does this regularly at its JFK terminal — but in the air? Southwest is carrying the band Imagine Dragons on a four-city tour, and as part of the hoopla, the group will perform an in-flight concert later this month aboard a flight from Las Vegas to Atlanta. If your in-flight preferences are more cerebral, Virgin America this month started offering in-flight audio and video academic lectures on a variety of subjects, provided by The Great Courses. The curriculum covers everything from cosmology to cooking, history to music. Readers: What’s your in-flight preference? Rock concertsor learning enhancement?

New fangled inflight entertainment aboard Qantas.

Qantas tests VR headsets. Virtual reality (VR) is primed to be the next big thing in entertainment technology, providing an immersive, 3D experience. Qantas is getting a jump on the trend by offering Samsung VR headsets to first class passengers on some of its Los Angeles flights starting in March, and at its first class lounges in Melbourne and Sydney.

BA revamps mileage plan. British Airways is coming out with a big overhaul of its Executive Club loyalty program effective April 28. Among the changes: The number of Avios earned (that’s Executive Club’s “currency”) will basically be increased for passengers in business and first class — especially in the higher fare classes — and decreased for those flying on the lowest economy fares. The cost of reward travel is also being restructured with the introduction of peak and off-peak pricing. You can see all the details on the airline’s website

Virgin speeds up in-flight Wi-Fi. Flyers on Virgin America who use in-flight Wi-Fi should notice an improvement in download speeds now that the airline has completed the deployment of Gogo’s ATG-4 Wi-Fi service on all 53 of its Airbus A320s. With speeds topping out at 9.8 Mbps, the ATG-4 service is more than three times faster than the first generation of in-flight Internet. To promote the enhancement, Virgin and Gogo are offering a chance to win roundtrip flights, a new iPad or free Wi-Fi service for a year to persons who “share their best ‘office in the sky’ moment on Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #OfficeInTheSky.” Readers, what’s your experience with in-flight Wi-Fi? Too slow? Too expensive? Or just right? Post comments below.

Gogo Wi-Fi Tip: Did you know that you can buy Gogo day passes online before your flight for just $16 vs the $35+ fee you’ll pay for connecting on the plane? This saves the most money for longer transcon flights. Get your passes ahead of time here: Gogo $16 day pass

SkyMiles offers Hertz status. Delta has bolstered its partnership with Hertz by offering SkyMiles Medallion members elite status in the car rental company’s Gold Plus Rewards program, which will give them expedited service and car upgrade eligibility. Gold Medallions can join Hertz’s Five Star Program, while Platinums and Diamonds are eligible for the Gold Plus Rewards President’s Circle. Delta set up a web page with a link to the registration process for Hertz status enrollment. Medallions can also scan Hertz’s summary of benefits for the Gold Plus Rewards status levels.

Alaska debuts new in-flight perks. Streaming in-flight entertainment to personal electronic devices is just one of the perks Alaska Airlines is rolling out as part of its new “Alaska Beyond” in-flight improvements. The company said entertainment streaming — currently available on 50 of its 737s, and coming on the rest by April — will be free through January 31; after that, movies and TV shows start at $1.99. The improvements also include new Recaro leather seats with power outlets and USB ports at every seat (currently on 95 percent of its aircraft) and new in-flight service that offers “locally-sourced, artisan food and beverage from iconic Northwest brands.” Later in 2015, Alaska is due to begin installing new overhead bins that provide 48 percent more storage space.

Routes: Southwest, JetBlue, AA. Southwest will add new service next year on several routes: On June 7, it will begin twice-daily Los Angeles-Portland, Ore. flights as well as new daily service between LAX-Indianapolis, Oakland-Nashville and Oakland-New Orleans. On June 28, it will add twice-daily Indianapolis-Boston flights and daily service between Austin-St. Louis and Austin-Orange County, Calif. … JetBlue last week inaugurated three new Florida routes from Washington Reagan National, including twice-daily service to Jacksonville and daily flights to Ft. Myers and West Palm Beach … American Airlines has filed for government approval to start code-sharing with Mexican carrier Interjet, with plans to put the AA code onto Interjet flights from Mexico City to Huatulco, Villahermosa, Merida, Tuxla Gutierrez and Oaxaca.

China connections: United, Virgin. United Airlines plans to boost seasonal capacity from San Francisco to China in 2015. The carrier said that from May 6 to October 24, it will double its SFO-Shanghai service to two flights a day, and from June 4 to September 1 it will increase SFO-Chengdu frequencies from three a week to daily. Meanwhile, Virgin America said that starting in 2015, it will offer members of its Elevate program reciprocal benefits with China Eastern, so they can earn and burn miles on the Chinese carrier’s flights. Virgin will also add the Shanghai-based airline’s code to a number of its U.S. routes.

AIRPORTS

Qantas First lounge at LAX (Photo: Qantas)

New Qantas First lounge at LAX. Qantas has cut the ribbon on a new Qantas First lounge at Los Angeles International Airport that’s more than three times the size of its predecessor. The new Qantas First facility — open to first class customers, Qantas Platinum and Platinum One frequent flyers, and Oneworld Emerald and international first class flyers — can seat more than 200 guests. It has a 74-seat restaurant with cuisine from Australian celebrity chef Neil Perry, as well as enhanced services like faster Wi-Fi, wireless printing, cable TV, a pair of private work suites and seven shower suites. Meanwhile, Qantas last week increased service on it s LAX-Melbourne route from seven flights a week to 10.

HOTELS

Guest room at Kimpton’s Hotel Monaco Philadelphia (Photo: Kimpton)

InterContinental to acquire Kimpton Hotels. The popular and fast-growing boutique chain Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, with 62 U.S. properties and 16 more in the works, is being acquired by InterContinental Hotels Group for $430 million. Noting that the boutique hotel business is “the fastest growing segment in the industry,” IHG said that Kimpton, with its distinctive designs and decors, will be “highly complementary with IHG’s Hotel Indigo and EVEN Hotels brands.” The purchaser said it would speed up the growth of Kimpton in the U.S. and introduce the brand in foreign destinations, citing a “significant opportunity” for expansion in Europe and Asia. There will be no immediate impact on customers; Kimpton told members of its Karma Rewards plan in an email that its program and the IHG Rewards Club “will continue to run as separate loyalty programs” for the time being.

Starwood expands free Wi-Fi. On the heels of a similar announcement by Marriott two months ago, Starwood Hotels & Resorts said that effective February 2, 2015, members of its Starwood Preferred Guest program who book their rooms directly through a Starwood digital channel including websites and mobile apps will get free standard in-room Wi-Fi access at all the company’s brands. Starwood already offers free Internet at its Aloft, Element, and Four Points by Sheraton brands in North America, and to SPG Platinum members. Starwood’s other brands include St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, W, Westin, Le Meridien and Sheraton.

Hilton digital check-in goes live. Hilton Worldwide announced last week that guests who use its Hilton HHonors app can now check in digitally at more than 4,100 of its properties worldwide in 11 brands, using their own smartphones, tablets or desktops. They can also use the app to select a specific room for their stay. Next year, Hilton said, it will expand the app’s functionality so guests can unlock their room doors with their smartphones, starting with its Conrad, Hilton, Waldorf Astoria and Canopy by Hilton brands. Have you tried digital check-in with any hotels yet? Any problems?

Virgin America bets on winter leisure routes. Stepping away from its bases at SFO and LAX, Virgin America will add a pair of new seasonal routes this winter — daily New York JFK-Ft. Lauderdale flights from mid-December through April, and four weekly Boston-Las Vegas roundtrips from January 8 through April; it will also boost JFK-LAS frequencies from seven to nine a week January 5-April 28. To free up aircraft, Virgin will make what a spokesman calls “a temporary reduction” in SFO-Chicago O’Hare and LAX-ORD to just one daily roundtrip apiece, down from three and two respectively. And last week, Virgin terminated its daily Philadelphia flights from SFO and LAX.

JetBlue taps SFO-LAS. Maybe Virgin America thinks its seven daily SFO-Las Vegas flights are plenty, but rival JetBlue sees an opening there; it will jump into the market January 5 with two daily roundtrips, and introductory fares as low as $76. Speaking of SFO, we’re getting close to the launch of JetBlue’s premium-cabin Mint service on its SFO-JFK route, set for October 26. JetBlue will boost SFO-JFK frequencies from three a day to five by early next year. JetBlue is also growing at LAS, adding daily non-stops to Ft. Lauderdale October 29.

No love for Delta in Dallas. Delta’s five daily flights from Dallas’ close-in Love Field to Atlanta will end on October 13. That’s when the Wright Amendment expires, and when American Airlines’ two gates at DAL — which Delta has been subleasing — will be transferred to Virgin America. With all the expansion at DAL, not only by Southwest and Virgin America, but also by United — which plans to double its daily DAL-Houston Intercontinental schedule to 10 flights — there was no room left for Delta. The change doesn’t affect Delta’s operations at DFW. Virgin CEO David Cush said this week that the carrier might fly to two more cities from DAL– while we are hoping one might be Atlanta, Cush wouldn’t say.

American Airlines CRJ flights between ATL and La Guardia are coming back (Photo: David Montiverdi)

AA revives LGA-ATL. American Airlines, which abandoned LaGuardia-Atlanta service earlier this year as part of a reshuffling related to its merger with US Airways, plans to revive that key business route January 6, with four daily American Eagle roundtrips. AA said the new Eagle service will use CRJ-700s with nine first class and 54 economy seats, operating out of ATL’s North Terminal T Concourse. American also announced new service starting March 5 from Miami to Austin, Kansas City, Salt Lake City and San Antonio. And last week, American started new Eagle service between Chicago O’Hare-Bismarck, N.D. and DFW-Bismarck, while affiliate US Airways Express kicked off new routes from Charlotte to Evansville and Ft. Wayne, Ind.; and Philadelphia-Ft. Wayne, and US Airways began mainline Phoenix-Cleveland service.

Delta point transfers capped. if you’re sitting on hundreds of thousands of American Express Membership Rewards points that you plan to transfer into your Delta SkyMiles account, better act fast. Effective January 1, Delta is limiting the amount of point transfers into SkyMiles accounts from partner companies to 250,000 a year. See the announcement on Delta’s website (click on General Program Updates/Transferring points from SkyMiles partners).

The Qantas A380 DFW-SYD nonstop is now the longest flight from the US (Photo: Qantas)

Double A380s at DFW. Qantas last week replaced the 747 on its Dallas/Ft. Worth-Sydney route with an Airbus A380 super-jumbo, giving it 10 percent more seats in the market, which Qantas flies six days a week (except Tuesdays). The aircraft has 14 first class seats, 64 in business, 35 in premium economy and 371 in regular coach. The 7,452 nautical mile, nearly 14-16 hour DFW-SYD flight is now the longest from the US, bumping Delta’s ATL-Johannesburg nonstop to #2 at 7,329 nautical miles. Qantas is a partner in American Airlines’ Oneworld alliance. Two days later, Emirates brought DFW its second A380, with daily nonstop service to Dubai.

Frontier keeps adding new markets. It seems like almost every week, Frontier Airlines announces more new routes. In its latest volley, the airline said it will start flying out of Miami December 20/21 to Chicago O’Hare, Denver, LaGuardia and Philadelphia, all with one or two flights a day. It will also launch PHL-Orlando and PHL-Tampa flights December 20, followed in the spring by new service from PHL to ATL, CLT and ORD. Other new O’Hare routes starting December 20 are Las Vegas and Tampa.

Please participate in this week’s poll on how fearful you are about ebola:

United upgrades first class fare with items like this caprese on Asiago baguette (Photo: United)

(TravelSkills is based in the Bay Area and yes, we felt the earthquake early Sunday morning! Thankfully no damage here at HQ. The rumble felt like riding along a dirt road in a Winnebago in the dark.)

AIRLINES

Big fare sale. As a busy summer comes to a close, all airlines have put fall and winter flights on sale, and most of these fares represent good value if you can book ahead of time. To get the deal, you must book by Thursday, August 28. Discounts are good for trips from early September all the way through early March. As usual, they do not include holiday season flights and include other limitations (like Saturday night stays) that make them mostly unusable for business travelers. But if you have a flexible schedule, you’ll like what you see here. United | Delta | American | Southwest | Virgin America NOTE: Many of the best deals are already sold out. To stay up to day on newsy updates and alerts like this, be sure to LIKE TravelSkills on Facebook.

United revamps food & beverage. Premium travelers on United Airlines will see improvements in in-flight meals and drinks in the weeks ahead, as the airline unveiled plans for new options. The changes are aimed at first and business class customers on North American routes longer than 800 miles, who this month started seeing premium salads, and in September will be offered premium sandwiches and wraps like prosciutto on tomato focaccia, Thai chicken wrap, and Cobb salad wrap. This fall, United will add Prosecco sparkling wine to the beverage list, and next year it will extend the changes to the front cabins of shorter flights and United Express. In other news, United has introduced self-service bag tagging at its Chicago O’Hare hub. (What do you think of United’s first class food? Will the improvements change your booking habits?)

American starts refitting 777-200s. American Airlines has started work on a previously announced change to its international fleet, expanding the number of lie-flat business class seats on its 777-200s and eliminating first class. The change — which will leave AA’s 14 new 777-300ERs as the only ones in its fleet offering three-class service — follows a trend among major U.S. to scale back or eliminate the traditional front cabin to meet the changing demands of the business travel marketplace. (This makes me wonder how long it will take AA to yank those first class seats on its A321Ts flying between California and JFK, and replace them with business class.)

Cathay adds BOS, remakes lounge. Boston travelers will get their first direct access to Hong Kong next spring, when Cathay Pacific is slated to start non-stop service on the route with a 777-300ER. Cathay will fly the route — its sixth U.S. gateway — four times a week, starting May 15, 2015. Meanwhile, Cathay also revealed plans to overhaul The Pier, its first class lounge at Hong Kong International Airport, remaking it to resemble a luxury apartment, with several rooms devoted to different purposes.

Big cuts coming at Qantas. Qantas announced this week that it would cut costs in its international division to the tune of a whopping $1 billion. The reasons for a massive cuts include overcapacity, competition from foreign carriers (especially UAE carriers) and weakened demand for flights between Australia and Asia. How will this affect the US to Australia market? The Sydney Morning Herald reports that one of Qantas two Sydney-Los Angeles flights will shift from a morning to an evening departure and it will add three weekly flights from Melbourne to Los Angeles in January. “The capacity increase comes as Virgin Australia recently announced it would withdraw its three weekly Melbourne-Los Angeles 777 flights from October in favour of a daily offering on the Brisbane-Los Angeles route. United Airlines will launch new 787-9 flights from Melbourne to Los Angeles around the same time,” the newspaper reports.

Frontier overhauls its elite status. Frontier Airlines told members of its EarlyReturns loyalty program that it is changing the requirements and benefits of elite status effective February 20, 2015. The existing Ascent and Summit levels will be replaced with a single status called simply Frontier Elite, and to achieve it, members have to fly 20,000 miles or 25 segments during this calendar year. Members will no longer get a free checked bag, but they will get a free carry-on (the airline now charges for carry-ons), and elite benefits will no longer be extended to members’ traveling companions. The airline also said it will impose a fee for redeeming miles, starting October 31, 2014.

CARS

UberBLACK prices soar in SF. (Photo: Uber)

UberBLACK raising fares. Last week we were alerted to a 7% hike in UberBLACK fares and the disappearance of flat fares to the airport by a TravelSkills reader in San Francisco who wrote, “Wanted to ask you whether you were aware that Uber has quietly dropped flat fares to SFO? It apparently happened this week. I was unpleasantly surprised tonight when I was charged a $92 fare from lower Pacific Heights to SFO in Uber black car. In fairness, the company dropped it to $65 when I emailed them tonight to complain, but buyer beware. These are the new fees. A 50% increase is beyond a rip off. I’ll be going back to my regular limo company that charged the same $65.” We did find this blurb on its blog about the increase: “As we make UberBLACK even better, we’re updating how we present pricing. Starting today we’re slightly increasing prices by 7%and transitioning away from flat rates. We know you rely on UberBLACK and you trust us to get you where you need to go.” Uber told TravelSkills that “each market is different” and that this post was written specifically for San Francisco. Have you noticed any changes in recent Uber pricing in other cities? What do you think? Please leave your comments below.

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Uber links bookings to United, Hyatt apps. Uber is expanding its reach to a much wider market, especially business travelers, by releasing an application programming interface that links its booking service to the mobile apps of other companies. Its 11 launch partners include United Airlines and Hyatt Hotels, as well as other apps used frequently by business travelers like restaurant finder OpenTable, TripAdvisor, and even Starbucks. Users who sign up for Uber through the new partner links will get an incentive discount, and United is offering 1,000 bonus miles.

National offers free rental days. Members of National Car Rental’s Emerald Club can earn free days with the company’s Rent Rent Reward promotion. Registered members will get one free rental day for every two qualifying rentals of a mid-sized or larger vehicle for two days or more from now through January 31, 2015.

AIRPORTS

Phony TSA agent at SFO gets off. A Bay Area executive took airport hi-jinks a little too far when he had too much to drink and decided to pose as a TSA agent, then patted down a couple of female travelers. He was arrested, but charges were dropped because the two women had flown off and couldn’t be located. Another interesting fact emerged from the incident: While it is against the law to impersonate a cop, it’s not illegal to pretend you’re a TSA agent.

Southwest finishes move to new DAL terminal. In preparation for its big expansion of service October 13 to a number of long-haul routes out of Dallas’ Love Field, Southwest Airlines has completed the move of all flight operations out of the airport’s old terminal into the new one. The old building is now slated for demolition. Southwest was only using two gates in the old terminal; it will occupy 16 of the 20 gates in the shiny new one.

QANTAS will depart San Francisco International for Sydney for the last time tomorrow night, Saturday May 7. The flight departs at 11:10 pm.

QANTAS is moving the daily nonstop flight to Dallas/Ft Worth where it has close ties with Oneworld partner, American Airlines.

With QANTAS out of the SFO-SYD market, only United will offer nonstops on the route. One stop options from SFO include Air New Zealand via Auckland, or QANTAS via Los Angeles. I’m wondering if perhaps the newly named Virgin Australia may consider adding nonstops from Sydney to connect with SFO-based Virgin America. Stay tuned for more on that…

I’ll sure miss seeing that graceful kangaroo on the big red tail of the QANTAS 747 parked at SFO’s international terminal.

The big red QANTAS bird that took me to Sydney two years ago. I’m sad it’s now flying away.

I have not seen this reported in the U.S. media yet, but I’ve learned from the Australian Business Traveller website that QANTAS intends to ditch its SFO-Sydney flights on May 14th.

The 747-400 flight will move to Dallas/Ft Worth airport, the main hub of QANTAS’ Oneworld alliance partner, American Airlines.

This will leave the only nonstop choice between the Bay and Australia to United Airlines. However, Bay Area travelers can still opt to fly Air New Zealand’s daily nonstop to Auckland, then connect to Australia from there.

In a recent interview in Australia, United CEO Jeff Smisek termed the older, raggedy United 747 currently plying the SFO-SYD route as “unacceptable.” I would hope that upgrades to the flight are imminent as a result of that comment, but without direct, nonstop competition on the route, I’m not expecting too much.

Editor Chris McGinnis

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